LaLaItalia | PlanningaTour.com

Tuscan towns

Volterra

VOLTERRA
Volterra is an Etruscan city of great architectural interest. Built on a high plateau, 1770 feet above sea level between the Rivers of Bra and Cecina, there are spectacular views of the surrounding hills. Enclosed by yellowy-gray volcanic hills, it has a bleak and isolated appearance. In the Etruscan period, Volterra, called Felathri by the Etruscans and Voltarrae by the Romans was one of the most important cities in the Etruscan Confederation. From the period of the kings, it was at war with Rome. Remains of the ancient surrounding walls, including the Etruscan Porta dell’ Arco, may still be seen today. Also surviving are ruins of the baths, an aqueduct, an amphitheatre, and Etruscan burial places. The city is famous for its craftsmen who carve statues out of the locally mined alabaster.

Palazzo dei Priori, the medieval seat of the government on the Piazza dei Priori, is the oldest of its kind in Tuscany probably inspired the design for the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence It is in the heart of Volterra, enclosed by an almost totally medieval group of buildings. Built between 1208 and 1257, it is still used for town council meetings. It is situated on the medieval rectangular Piazza dei Priori. It was a market place as early as 851.

Baptistry was erected on an octagonal base that has been dated as 13th century. The façade is adorned with stripes of white and green marble and the main entrance is surmounted by an architrave decorated with the sculptured heads of Christ, the Virgin and the apostles, a work of an artist close to Nicola Pisano. It is said that Brunelleschi offered advice for the construction of the dome in the 15th century.

Duomo has a Romanesque façade and is interposed by the geometric intarsia marble framework of the main entrance added in the 13th century and attributed by Vasari to Nicola Pisano. The entrance is through the baptistry, as you couldn’t enter until you were baptized. One of the most spectacular sights is the 1580 ceiling that is carved and embossed in gold and azure and is filled with portraits of Volterran saints.

Guarnacci Museo is one of Italy’s major archeological museums and one of the earliest public museums in Europe. It consists entirely of local finds, including some 600 Etruscan funerary urns. Carved in alabaster, terracotta or local sandstone or limestone, they date from the fourth to first centuries BC.

Alabaster Workshops in the historical center today are few, but those which remain have been entrusted with the preservation of this ancient tradition and the creative evolution of the craft. Volterra’s alabaster is of the chalky variety ( hydrated calcium sulphate) and was formed during the Miocene period as the sediments of calcium sulphate contained in the sea water underwent a process of concentration. A soft white stone, alabaster is more easily carved than marble. Once the stone of the gods, the Etruscans were the first to carve alabaster for their cinerary urns. The Etruscans chose the highest quality pure alabaster which they painted with minerals and sometimes decorated with a very thin layer of gold. Very few artifacts from the Medieval and Renaissance periods have been found which suggests that alabaster was seldom carved during that era. The alabaster craft was reestablished in the 17th century and flourished at the beginning of the 18th century as skilled artisans and sculptors launched the reproduction of classical art and high quality artifacts renowned throughout the world.
In 1780 the Grand Duchy of Tuscany registered 8 or 9 artisan workshops in Volterra. By 1830 the number had risen to more than 60 thanks to the innovative spirit of the “traveling craftsmen” who traveled the world selling their wares, opening shops, taking part in fairs and auctions. Until 1870 the alabaster craft flourished and harvested an excellent repute in Italy and abroad. In spite of long intervals of regression, the alabaster industry has continued to conserve the age-old tradition of the craft.

Teatro Romano is situated just outside the city walls. It is an ancient Roman theatre dating from 5 to 20 AD. The monument was built at the end of the first century BC

www.volterratur.it

Pitti Palace

The palace, which houses several important museums, was built in the second half of the 15th century probably on a project of Filippo Brunelleschi for Luca Pitti, but was unfinished at his death in 1472. The original building, formed by two floors and the ground floors, with only five windows on each tloor, was purchased in 1550 by Eleonora da Toledo, the wife of the Grand Duke Cosimo I de’Medici, thus becoming the official residence of the family. For this reason it was widened and changed, in 1560 by Bartolomeo Ammannati and at the beginning of the 17th century by Giulio and Alfonso Parigi.
The lather two architects gave the facade its present day aspect, with the only exception of the two lateral projecting pavilions that were built in the age of the Lorraine family and completed during the first half of the 19th century by Paoletti and Poccianti, who also built the Palazzina della Meridiana, added on to the rear section of the palace Downlooking the garden.

Most of the internal decoration was also executed during the 17th century by Giovanni da San Giovanni, Pietro da Cortona, il Volterrano, Antonio Domenico Gabbiani and Sebastiano Ricci.

As regards the domestic life inside the palace, we know that it was the home of several components of the family who were distributed in different private apartments.
The rooms on the left wing belonged to the Grand Duke, while those on the right side were used by the heir. The lateral wings housed the apartments of their wives. The rooms on the second floor contained the large library, while the side rooms were used for the children.
The left side on the ground floor housed the apartment that the Grand Duke used in summer.

Official web-site: www.polomuseale.firenze.it

Leslie Halloran
Please check out my website at: www.lihdesigns.net

“A frog in the well does not know the sea”. – Japanese Proverb

Best tours of Italy

Umbria tours
Deruta is a hill town and commune in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region of central Italy, near Tuscany.
Long known as a center of refined majolica manufacture, Deruta remains known for its ceramics, which are exported worldwide.

The historic town center features the Gothic Church of San Francesco built in 1388, and the Palazzetto Municipale (Town Hall), which dates from about 1300, located on the Piazza dei Consoli (the “Square of the Consuls”). In addition to the usual governmental offices, the municipal hall houses a Museum of Ceramics, an art gallery (the Pinacoteca), and a capacious atrium in which one can view a variety of archaeological finds, some of which date to Neolithic times.

The art gallery’s holdings consist of a fresco by Perugino, depicting San Romano and San Rocco (1476), and the collection donated by a local patron, Lione Pascoli, which includes works by Niccolò di Liberatore, called Alunno, Giovan Battista Gaulli, Sebastiano Conca, Francesco Trevisani, Antonio Amorosi, Francesco Graziani and Pieter Van Bloemen. The gallery also houses works received from various Deruta churches including San Francesco, Sant’ Antonio, the Defunti di Ripabianca and the Ospedale San Giacomo.

The Church of Sant’Antonio, with frescoes by Bartolommeo and Giovanni Battista Caporali, rises at the end of a narrow street, Via Mastro Giorgio. Another church worth seeing is the Madonna del Divino Amore on Piazza Cavour.
Along the Tiberina road, at the foot of the old town, yet another church, the Madonna delle Piagge, is clad in a colorful array of ceramic tiles.
Deruta was the birthplace of Girolamo Diruta, an organist, music theorist, and composer.

Spring in Italy

Spring Weather and Climate in Italy
Spring is a nice time to travel in Italy. It is generally pleasant in most parts of Italy although rain, and even snow in early spring, is possible.
Most parts of Italy get less rainfall in spring than in fall.
Toward the end of spring, temperatures can get quite warm and you can enjoy outdoor dining.
Top spring foods include artichokes (carciofi), asparagus (asparagi), and spring lamb (agnello).
The heat and tourist crowds of summer have not arrived and more daylight hours give more time for touring and visiting outdoor sites which sometimes close at dusk. Beaches will be less crowded and swimming in the sea may be possible in late spring.
Spring is a good time for hiking and viewing wildflowers.
You’ll find many small fairs and festivals, especially food festivals or sagre, and outdoor performances start in late spring.
Highlights of spring are spring and flower festivals, Holy Week, and outdoor concerts starting in May or June.
National holidays are Easter Monday (la Pasquetta), April 25 (liberation day), May 1, and June 2 (Festa della Repubblica).
On these days, most shops and services will be closed but many major tourist attractions are usually open.
Festivals, concerts, and processions are common, too.

Tuscan villas: renaissance garden

giardino-garzoni — Giardino Garzoni Collodi

What is a Italian Renaissance Garden?
A Renaissance Garden is a place for retreat from a hectic world. It’s for pleasure and peace. It’s for wandering, pottering and contemplating. Any practical elements such as vegetables, fruit and herbs are woven into the garden design so they appear ornamental.

Outlining with Evergreens
The most recognizable elements of the Classical Italian Garden are the evergreen-outlined beds. Boxwood hedges, myrtle, rosemary, and other evergreen plants are trimmed into a hedge shape to divide the beds. More importantly, however, the hedges provide shape and green even in the garden’s fallow months because the Renaissance Garden is meant for year-round pleasure.

Topiary and Statuary
Topiary, evergreen plants shaped, trimmed and pruned into amusing shapes, are used to add humor and playfulness to the garden. Some say this is really a medieval custom that just stayed on during the Renaissance. But you’ll see more topiary than statuary in Classical Italian Gardens. Statuary, when it is used, is normally a central feature in a fountain or grotto. It is never vulgar or offensive, but humorous or graceful.

Fruit Trees
Renaissance Garden fruit trees are clipped and well tended. Some are planted in pots; others are planted in open ground, most often against walls. Citrus fruit plants are often potted up so they can be set outdoors during warm months, and moved indoors during winter months. Other fruit trees are usually trained as arches or over pergolas, when they’re not formed as an esplanade against a South-facing wall, for early ripening of the fruit.

Arches and Pathways
Evergreens often line pathways, and it’s not always box hedging. Laurel, Yew, Cypresses, Fir, Oaks, Plum, and Juniper trees are used to create green walls, arches and living pergolas. Footpaths are designed to offer varied walks with varied views through the garden. Paths can be grass paths, mown down regularly, or dirt paths weeded regularly or gravel-covered.

Trellises and Climbing Plants
Trellises are used to divide “rooms” and line paths in the garden. They are trained with climbing plants like ivy, roses, honeysuckle, or grape vines. The climbing plants are also trained over structures such as pergolas, porticos and pavilions. Flowering climbers are preferred.

Terracing
The ideal Renaissance Garden is terraced on a gently sloping hillside. Paths and short flights of steps join the various levels. Terraces are used mainly to divide the garden into “rooms” with varying “moods”, and to limit the views and vistas. A connecting terrace should come as a surprise when climbing up the garden. Looking down from the villa, however, the terraces should create a tableau of pleasing vistas, artistically sculpted views.

Potted Plants
Terra-cotta pots, often covered with figures and designs, are common decorative features in Renaissance Gardens. Flowers, fruit trees and herbs can be potted up and moved around the garden for variety and added color. They are almost always displayed in balanced symmetry.

Tightly Planted Beds
Bordered beds are often planted up on various eye levels. In the center is a tall plant such as a fruit tree, or an evergreen such as Laurel. Surrounding the tall plant are shorter plants in a different color, providing either a contrast or a complementary shade. These plants are often herbs or flowering plants such as roses, salvias, or lupines.

Water Features
Water always plays a part in Classical Italian Gardens. Primarily the water is for irrigation to keep the plants from drying out. Secondarily, the water is used for features such as grottos, fountains, streams, and ponds. These features can be central features in “rooms”, or as in the case of grottos, off to the shady sides of the garden.

Planned with the Villa
The villas were always taken into account when planning a Renaissance Garden. The villa is treated as a feature of the garden, usually the central view. Shapes on the exterior and interior of the villa are often mirrored in the garden shapes and structures, creating a harmonious blend of the two. But just as important are the beautiful vistas from the Villa when looking out of the windows and doors into the garden.

Structures
Structures are used to separate “rooms”, add varied heights for views; and to provide shade, relaxation, and protection from wind and salty sea-air. These structures can be porticos, pergolas, pavilions, grottos, loggias, balustrades or walls. They are made of natural materials and often trained with climbing plants.

Garden Furniture
Seating is spread around the garden so the various vistas and “rooms” can be contemplated and enjoyed in repose. Seating can include benches, small patches of lawn for picnics, chairs, and tables with chairs. They are usually in natural materials such as stone and wood. Covered seating areas are normally provided for protection from sun and rain alike. Pergolas covered in vines or flowering plants are a typical covered structure.

The General Mood
The Renaissance Garden or Classical Italian Garden is a light, open, peaceful, symmetrical, soothing garden. There is nothing dark, melancholy or gloomy.